"Mature" Language in games... does it enhance the experience *EXPLICIT*

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"Mature" Language in games... does it enhance the experience *EXPLICIT*

Was playing the beta for an upcoming RPG today. I like the setting, the design. Looks to be fun.

Then I talk to the first character I meet. He says "Ex-fucking-zactly" after a few other "fucks" thrown out.

In this game and in most others I've played that are peppered with supposedly mature language, "fuck" seems disproportionately used and pretty much breaks the experience.

I reached a point in my life where I deliberately turned to puritan values, so others may not hold my distaste. But I wonder, is it just me that's turned off?

When I was 3 years old, I thought the word "poo" was like the greatest thing on earth. When I heard it I laughed. When I said it I felt like the height of wit. When I was a teenager, I think saying "fuck" a lot made me feel like an adult. When I was an adult, people who said it a lot seemed like teenagers to me.

There's a trend in PG-13 movies, especially comedies, to include "fuck" at least one time. Usually it's meant to be shockingly funny, like a wink. We're playing with the rules. The rest of the movie doesn't have that word, but one joke will. It won't be used again since that would break the PG-13 rating. But the feeling to me is that the films' creators are winking at the audience, saying, "we'd like to use this word a whole bunch of times, and we know you realllllly like it and want to hear it, so we're doing the best we can for you. Here, have one, enjoy!"

Is that what's happening in games? Is there any real reason to plop the word "fuck" down in the word "exactly?" I know it's a fantasy setting, but do people do that - straight faced - in real life without sounding like total tools? If not, if the dialogue isn't believable, then why do it?

My suspicion is that it is some sort of market testing gone awry. The word "fuck" must test well. Games ought to have a 13% percentage of "fuck" in them to please male audiences from the age of 14 to 23.

So tell me true, forum-crawlers. Do you prefer, actually prefer "mature" language of this sort, or do you just put up with it?

I hate vulgar use of language in games,i mean use it when its appropriate,not every other sentence.. I mean who the heck speak like that in real life o.O

US marines. Then again, they are basically trained to put themselves into situations where that sorta language is appropiate...

I don't like it in competitive games though. It feels weird in BF3 to complain about people calling each other "cocksucker" on chat when one of the random shouts is "Those cocksuckers are fucking me up!"

I think it works in some scenarios. For example, House of the Dead: Overkill highlights that it can be marvellous. If a fuck is written well, it will work. If it's just done because because then yeah, it sucks.

It's all in how it's used. Honestly, if you're in a warzone, people are being shot to pieces all around you, and you're not cursing I have to wonder what's wrong with you. At the same time, it can certainly be overused and excessive. At it's best it's a way to establish character, situation, and atmosphere. At its worst it sounds like a 10 year old that just learned those words wrote the script.

I've been playing The Darkness 2 these days and there's one scene where the use of harsh language hit me like a ton of bricks. A great moment and one of the best uses of swearwords in games. It made me boil with anger and hate - and the payoff was really good later in the game.

I think it works in some scenarios. For example, House of the Dead: Overkill highlights that it can be marvellous. If a fuck is written well, it will work. If it's just done because because then yeah, it sucks.

The gag with the guy saying "fuck" all the time was funny for a few seconds / half a dozen times. Nothing absurd going on, and nothing new. This "joke" has been used very very often since (and maybe before) Pulp Fiction.

What I like however is when a game makes the player curse under her/his breath through suprising and/or excellent presentation.

I donno, it felt fine in The Witcher games. There are times when it is overused and jars but there are also certain instances where the lack of any such language (or the use of tame stuff) makes things seem, well, plasticky and shit. FPS games offer examples of both.

The gag with the guy saying "fuck" all the time was funny for a few seconds / half a dozen times. Nothing absurd going on, and nothing new. This "joke" has been used very very often since (and maybe before) Pulp Fiction.

That makes it sound like you're saying "It's used so often, it can't be funny/good any more", which I disagree with. I think Overkill is an example of it done well; it's highly aware and is parodying that style of presentation (grindhouse) and the over-use of swearing. I can't see how having fuck in almost every sentence isn't absurd.

Also, I can't really think of that many examples, be it games or films, that have an abundance of swearing in anyhow. Of those, I can barely name any that are actually doing it well. That's the problem, not necessarily being overused as a trope.

I guess I can put up with it if it's establishing a character, but I don't particularly care for it when it feels like the language is there for the sake of being there, which happens now and then. I'd say I'm more inclined to tolerate it than endorse it if only because I don't see the point of using vulgarity in real life. There's just far better ways to express one's self than to do so in a way that makes you sound like some sort of boarish oaf.

I am under an NDA that I didn't bother to read, so to be safe I will neither confirm nor deny.

As far as establishing a character goes, I'll go back to the bit of dialogue I mentioned at the top of the thread. The character I was talking to was a thief in prison. So maybe he would use some salty language. Ok, fair. The whole interaction is managed without any, ex-fucking-cept the one bit that felt tacked on that I used as an ex-fucking-ample.

There's maybe a natural time and place to swear about something. I will cuss in real life if I am really angry. And if there's a game that has mayhem, violence, and irreverence as its main conceit, well, I can understand if the language is over-the-top. Bulletstorm, Duke Nukem, etc. Sure.

It's in what are supposed to be more immersive, realistic games that I don't expect or want that kind of dialogue. I want the games, not that dialogue.